Worldline (Euronext: WLN) is supporting PSA Payment Services Austria GmbH on its journey towards becoming a smart transaction provider beyond just payments.
Via its products WL ID Center and WL Trusted Authentication as well as experience in various infrastructure initiatives, Worldline is offering the tech foundation of the new digital identity, via an app called ich.app, which PSA will introduce in the Austrian market next year.
The foundation of the ID solution, for all users, is their current ID as a client of an Austrian bank. ich.app will allow clients to identify themselves with a variety of online retailers and service providers, and in other circumstances, without having to exchange further data.
The global usage of personal internet apps means that digital IDs are becoming really important with a requirement for balance between accessibility and integrity, while prioritizing security, reliability and GDPR compliance.
The logical solution is to use a trusted and universally accepted identification method, leveraging the screening that bank account holders are subject to as proof of their identity.
But all clients get to choose which data they share with whom. Because of its central role at the core of the Austrian payments system, PSA is well-positioned to provide a digital ID solution.
With the ongoing support of Worldline, PSA will offer Austrian businesses and their clients with a local data compliant and viable alternative to logins through Google and Facebook from next year.
PSA has reportedly been working with Worldline in payment processing since 2011. For PSA’s bank-based eID solution, Worldline is providing various products from their industrial unit offering that have been adapted to the requirements of ich.app:
WL ID Center, a centralized authentication solution, sends a user’s personal identity within seconds to their online user account (in this case ich.app).
In order to be used on mobile phones, WL ID Center is combined with WL Trusted Authentication. This authentication service from Worldline is PSD2 certified and used in European banks’ virtual banking systems and for online authorization of credit card transactions.
David Ostah, MD of PSA, stated:
“In order to make our vision of a universal online identification solution for people and businesses a reality, we are entering new territory in many areas. This makes our collaboration with our longstanding payment processing partner in this ambitious development project all the more significant. We are delighted that Worldline will also be taking operating our eID services as of 2022.”
Michael Steinbach, MD Financial Services at Worldline, remarked:
“We are delighted to be accompanying PSA on this new venture, providing both our experience in developing innovative mass transaction solutions for both payments and the industrial environment as well as and our proven authentication solutions. We firmly believe that PSA’s ich.app will become the eID standard in Austria in the near future.”